On Friday, August 16, 2019 at 7:49:44 PM UTC-4, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
On Friday, August 16, 2019 at 7:12:57 PM UTC-4, bob prohaska wrote:
The seat bag toolkit went missing on my bike after 30-odd years.
Unfortunately, I noticed only after getting a flat tire 8 miles
from home. As penance for my inattention I elected to walk, despite
half a dozen offers of help from other riders and one motorist. The
exercise is one I'm not eager to repeat 8-)

Beyond the obvious (tire levers, patch kit and spare tube) what have
folks found worth carrying to fend off routine trouble? My kit
acquired quite a bit more, including a chain tool, spoke wrench and
freewheel tool, along with hex keys. I don't think any of the first
three have ever been useful on the road, but they don't weigh much
and they're far easier to find if they're on the bike. Has anybody
ever had use for them, or other "shop" tools, on the road?

Suggestions for a seat bag would also be welcome. For the moment
I'll put the tools and spares in the pannier baskets, but that's
dangerous as they can be removed and forgotten. Much better to have
necessities permanently living on the bike.

Thanks for reading!

bob prohaska

Besides a spare tube and a patch kit with tire levers I have a nice multi-tool that includes a chain tool and spoke wrench. I also have a freewheel removal tool that I only carry if I'm going on a really long ride. I have an old Pocket Rocket tool that holds the freewheel removal tool and can be put onto any round post such as found on a chain-link fence, to use the freewheel tool. You can see images of the tool and how it's used here.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/738325...57710358232441

Cheers

Addendum.

I just looked at some of the ads in my March 1982 BICYCLING magazine and on page 157 see that the thing I called a Pocket Rocket was called a "Pocket Vise". No wonder I couldn't find any images of it on the web. Here's what the blurb in the magazine says about the Pocket Vice.

"We tested the Pocket Vise on a number of freewheels and found it works. We did notice that careless use can mar a stem, and with bikes that have stems that are not fully tightened, the removal of a stubborn freewheel can twist the stem in your head tube. The vice is guaranteed against breakage, and is cast aluminum so that it probably won't.

The Pocket Vise retails for $6, from Cycle Sports, P.O. Box 18937, Seattle, WA, 98118."


It sure is a handy thing to have if you break a spoke on a tour or long ride and you have a spare spoke with you.

In all the years I've had mine it never occurred to me to use it with the stem of my bike as the lever for it.

Cheers.